Guys. GUYS. We're less than 2 weeks away from the arrival of THE NAMING OF COLTON BLACK! There's a bunch of stuff happening / coming up, so I wanted to give you all the details. Here's what's going on:

From now until August 1st, enter my GoodReads giveaway to win an ADVANCED copy of THE NAMING OF COLTON BLACK!

Sign up for my next newsletter, which will go out on August 1st, to receive the latest news and updates on all things me, books, and fun stuff. (Click the little "PSSSST" banner in the right hand corner to be added!)

Guys. Keeping things honest here. Because I never want life to appear perfect or more pretty than it actually is. While working from home as a freelance writer has its definite benefits, it's also got its lows. And I'm feeling some of them right now. Nothing big. Nothing anyone else who freelances doesn't understand. The money comes. And the money goes.

I should know by now. That this is one of those life lessons God wants me to constantly learn. That my income--my career--doesn't come from anything I do. It comes from him. I don't often write about my beliefs and such, since I want everyone to feel comfortable reading my posts. But when things like this hit, I don't ever want to gloss over them. And pretend that I'm something that I'm not.

I tend to view my earnings as mine. As my accomplishments. As my safety net. And as long as I'm earning x amount, I'm set. We're good. Life can go on. When small things fall by the wayside--like freelance jobs--and less is coming in each month, I have no one else to lean on but God. He knows I need to pay bills. He promises to provide. So. I wait. And trust. That he will.

And he always does.

That's the funny thing. It never comes in the way I'm expecting. Or in the time line I'd like it to be in. But he provides. Sometimes to the exact dollar. Nothing more. Nothing less. And that's all I need to remember.

Guys. I can't believe it's only 20 days until THE NAMING OF COLTON BLACK comes out.

20. DAYS.

Which means I've got lots to do for the website and for YOU. I'm working on August 1st's newsletter (sign up if you want some sneak peeks!); getting a GOODREAD's giveaway going (where you can win an ADVANCED copy!); and some other fun things to get you as excited about this launch as I am :D

This book. Guys. This book is my heart. And I can't wait for you to hold it; read it; love it. I feel like every time someone purchases this book, a piece of me will go with it. (Oh gosh, the cheese, Robin. I know.) But honestly, I am so excited to share this piece of my heart with all of you.

​Sorry this post is late! When the husband comes home on Thursday night and tells you he's taking Friday off, well, everything else gets forgotten. To make up for it, please enjoy yet another embarrassing story of mine. Reposted from my past blog.

You know what? It seems a bit unfair to write about all these embarrassing moments and not tell you the most embarrassing moment I’ve experienced. Well, one of the top two. This one took place years ago. We’re talking elementary school. Third grade. For some reason, someone had the great idea that young kids would like to square dance. With each other. That boys and girls would enjoy touching hands, picking partners, and dancing together. Maybe. Maybe this would work in junior high. High school, sure. But grade school? When everyone knows boys have cooties? Apparently, adults forget this. Thus, square dance came to our school for an entire week.

Now, for some reason two boys in my class began competing over who would ask me to be their partner. Days before the dancing started, they fussed over me. Sat next to me on the carpet. Stood next to me in line. They were sweet boys, but the attention mortified me. And looking back, I’m aware that this is what boys do. Compete. Less about who for. More about the satisfaction of winning.

The time was coming near. The day we picked our square dance partner. Each of these boys was persistent. She’s going to choose me. No. ME. Back and forth. And then, PE class started. The teacher announced it was time to pick our partners. And suddenly, there were boys. Surrounding me. The two in my class and more faces than I can remember. I stood, frozen. Not knowing what to do. What to say. Then, I heard my name over the speakers.

“Robin? Why don’t you come up here?” It was the PE teacher. Waving me up to her. My ears burned. My face, red. I made my way to her side, where she handed me the microphone. She then asked me the most horrible thing a nine-year-old introverted, shy girl could have been asked. “Why don’t you tell everyone who you’ve chosen as your partner?”

My heart flipped. I wanted to melt into the asphalt. Not only was I on display for having been rushed by a group of boys, but now I had to pick one? On my own? In front of everyone??? I could see the heads of the two guys in my class. All other faces were blurry. Flustered, I mumbled the name of another boy in my class. Someone unintimidating; someone quiet. “Philip.”

“Perfect!” the PE teacher said, taking the mic back. “Well, head on over to your partner, Robin, and we’ll start.”

After that, nothing mattered. Any chance of the experience being fun was ruined. Gone. Awkwardness reigned. At least I got a good story out of it.

If there was a moral to this story, it would be DO NOT MAKE GRADE SCHOOL KIDS SQUARE DANCE. JUST DON’T DO IT.​*Disclaimer: the dialogue might not be entirely accurate, as this was twenty-four years ago. I did my best.

So, as I've already announced, I'm working on the sequel to The Missing Crimoire. And loving it. After feeling frustrated every time I sat down to write, it's starting to feel good again. Fun again. I know that it's not always going to feel that way. BUT, it's so freaking awesome buddy-ing up with Luke, Gwen, and Wood again.

Since I'm still trying to stick to a February publish deadline (EK), I'm hoping to spend this week solidifying my three act outline; reintroduce myself to my subplots ; and prep as much as I can for the first draft.

Which I'll start on Monday the 18th.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

From then on out, I'll be madly trying to finish a first draft by October. A second draft by December. And finalizing everything by late January so I can publish this beast in February.

Um.

We shall see. I'll update you along the way (with some fun goodies, of course!). Aaaaand don't forget to sign up for August's newsletter -- there will definitely be some sequel-ness reveals happening in it :D

Thanks to your amazingly kind feedback -- seriously, readers, I adore you -- I've decided to write the sequel to THE MISSING CRIMOIRE.

EK!

I love the idea of writing this next book, knowing people are interested in Luke's story. It warms my heart, actually.

I had planned on publishing my dystopian novel in February, finishing my first draft by the end of July. Now that I'm shelving this story for now, I have a LOT of catching up to do. Thankfully, characters are developed and story line is plotted (for the most part), so I am hoping to keep to a February deadline!

First of all THANK YOU to Linda and Brooke for entering my contest! You gals gave me GREAT dates with GREAT reasons -- so this was a TOUGH decision!

Ultimately, because you both gave such different yet amazing reasons for when I should release The Naming of Colton Black, you BOTH will receive a FREE copy of the book! (I know, I know. But when you read what they both wrote, you'll understand why.)